Piano-playing mechanism.



c. w. ATKINSON.

PIANO PLAYING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 14. 1910.

1,000,359. Patented Aug. 15, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Cf 02W 7 76210 COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 50.. WASHINGTON, l'Jv C.

G. W. ATKINSON.

PIANO PLAYING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED mun, 1910.

Patented Aug. 15, 1911.

3 SHEETS SHEETZ.

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH cm, WASHINGTON, u. C

O. W. ATKINSON.

PIANO PLAYING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 14. 1910 1,000,359. Patented Aug. 15,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

x t N UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLAUDE WILLIAM ATKINSON, OF GREAT MISSENDEN, ENGLAND.

PIANO-PLAYING MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAUDE WILLIAM Ar- KINSON, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Great Mis senden, in the county of Bucks, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Piano-Playing Mechanism and the Like, of which the fol; lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to piano playing mechanism and the like, and has for its object the construction and arrangement of pneumatic operating mechanism whereby (1) simplicity, low cost of manufacture and compactness of installation are obtained metal or other impervious material can be used in place of wood and the pneumatic valve mechanism is a completely self contained element so as to be readily inserted into and held in position in a vacuum chest without any special form of support and forming a jointed connection which is air tight under ordinary circumstances.

In the manufacture of piano players up to the present the mechanism involved has required the enlargement of the piano case when applied within the same or the provision of a separate cabinet containing the operative mechanism which is placed in front of the ordinary piano. In the first case an ordinary piano cannot have the mechanism fitted thereto and in the second place the provision of the mechanism in a cabinet produces a piece of furniture which is heavy and diflicult to place in position, and when not in use is a cumbersome obstruction in an ordinary room. Further the mechanism which is built into the piano case, where it operates the keys at the rear end by an upward push, in this way disturbs the initial balance of the key mechanism as designed for playing with the hands. It has been customary in the past to manufacture this class of mechanism from wood owing no doubt to the fact that the manufacture has been in the hands of piano and organ makers. Wood is owing to its porosity the most unsuitable material and some treatment in the way of varnishing has to be carried out to reduce the leakage through the material itself. In addition the bulk of material necessary in order to obtain rigidity and strength, must necessarily be considerable, with corresponding bulk and weight. It is to overcome these objections that this invention is designed.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 14, 1910.

Patented Aug. 15, 1911.

Serial No. 538,009.

This invention consists in the general arrangements and construction by which the above objects are effected.

In order that my invention may be the better understood, I will now describe the same in relation to the accompanying drawings, reference being had to the letters and figures marked thereon.

Like letters refer to like parts in the various figures.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the vacuum chamber and portable playing table, and pneumatic apparatus shown in position beneath the key bed of a piano. Fig. 2 is a part plan of the same, showing the pneumatic ap paratus in position on the top of the vacuum chamber and also the disposition of thetracker pipes leading from the valve pneumatics. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the lower plate of a power pneumatic and its tubular support. Fig. 4c is a plan of a top plate of a power pneumatic with engaging device for key operation. Figs. 5 and 6 show transverse sections of one of the power pneumatic plates, indicating the method of attachment of the flexible envelop. Fig. 7 is a view of one of the connecting devices between the power pneumatics and the keys of the instrument. Fig. 8 is a sectional side view of one of the brackets attached to the piano key bed for supporting the playing table taken on the line Z Z in Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a front view of both brackets shown in conjunction with the perforated front board. Fig. 10 is a part sectional view of the perforated front board on the line Y Y in Fig. 9 and a side view of a part of the playing table with one of the attaching bridles engaged with the supporting bracket. Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the valve pneumatics.

Referring to Figs. 1, and 2, a is the key bed of the piano, Z) a white key, 0 a black key and (Z the connecting means adapted to engage with a projecting finger e attached to the top plate 9 of the power pneumatic g. The vacuum chest 77, is supported at the rear of the key bed a by brackets 2' adapted to allow the whole pneumatic action to be disengaged from the key connecting means cl by a fore and aft move ment in the slot and to fold down aboutthe trunnion 7c.

The vacuum chest h is made of sheet metal having its top surfaces 7L1 and k arranged in different horizontal planes, providing a plurality of supporting surfaces for the flat sectioned tubular supports of the pneumatics g, which will be maintained in position by holding down strips k fastened by means of screws or other equivalent devices. Along the upper surfaces 72/ and ha I arrange holes it which communicate with the interior of supports 9 I arrange vacuum valves Z and air valves Z to close the holes h in the upper and lower surfaces of the tubular support 9 These valves are operated by means of valve pneumatics Z situated in the base of the vacuum chamber it. Each valve pneumatic Z is composed of two circular dished metal elements Z and Z of required diameter between which is disposed a flexible diaphragm Z which is secured to the metal elements Z Z* by surrounding them completely and being bound down by a wire or thread into a groove Z formed in the periphery of the element Z". The envelop is folded inward in the space between the two elements, thus allowing the two elements to approach each other when air is exhausted. To the element Z I attach a spindle or stem Z which passing through a hole in the element Z carries the valves Z and Z The valve pneumatics Z are fixed in position in the base of the vacuum chamber h by the element Z being of conical formation and being pressed into a conical seating 71, formed in the base of the vacuum chamber it, that portion of the envelop Z which surrounds the element Z forms the jointing material between the pneumatics Z and the vacuum chamber it. A tracker pipe at is inserted into a hole in the wall of the recess 76 corresponding to a hole in the element Z and a small hole m is made in the base of the element Z to act as a bleed hole.

Each power pneumatic g is composed of two dished elements and g the length of which is several times the width. These elements are connected together by a flexible impervious medium g* which is fastened to the sides by cement or other suitable material. In some cases I prefer to form a groove around the sides. of the element and I fix the medium in place by inserting it into this groove where I hold it in place, by a wire or equivalent device. The lower plate 9 of the pneumatic g is "attached to and is carried by the tube g and a suitable hole is formed between the interior of the tube and the interior of the pneumatic g, the ends of said tube g being hermetically sealed. Suitable springs g are arranged on each pneumatic to maintain it in an extended condition until collapsed by the vacuum.

In order to provide for the exhaustion of the air from the vacuum chest h I provide a series of flat pipes n extending from the inside of vacuum chest it to the front perforated board 0, and I arrange these pipes beneath the power pneumatics g and above the base or bottom plate 2) of the instrument.

I place the tubes Q connecting the tracker pipe m with the perforated board 0 beneath the air pipes a, and in this way I am able to make the total vertical height of the playing apparatus exceedingly small, so that no inconvenience arises to a person playing the piano by hand.

To the key bed of the piano I bolt two blocks or brackets 1 by means of bolts 9"- and r and I place these at the extremity of the front perforated plate 0 and I lock the perforated plate 0 to the brackets 1" by means of horizontal pins 3. This said plate is provided with a series of holes 0 each connected by a pipe q and tracker pipe to one of the valve pneumatics Z and the flat air pipes n are brought to holes 0 at the front of the perforated plate 0. Two slots t are provided in the perforated plate 0 fitted with pins t adapted to engage with the bridle t hinged to the front perforated plate 5 of the playing table.

The playing table consists of a base a of wood or other suitable material attached to the plate 6 and having mounted on its upper side the winding mechanism a and tracker a and on the underside the reservoir 1!, and bellows a of ordinary construction. The plate i is perforated with holes 11 connected with the tracker a? by pipes e Further holes to are provided. communicating by pipes 20 with the reservoir a. The holes a and w are so disposed as to coincide with similar holes in the front board 0 of the playing mechanism and the abutting faces of the plates 0 and t are made to form an air tight joint one with the other when the bridles 5 having engaged with the pins 16 draw the two faces together under the action of the weight of the playing table and the strains due to operating the bellows a by means of pedals adapted to work same. It follows that the bridles may be hinged to the piano and hooked on to the table without de parting from this invention.

It will be understood that by arranging the various parts of a pneumatic piano player as hereinbefore described, the player mechanism can be readily and inexpensively adapted to ordinary pianos without in any way interfering with the general uses of the piano for hand-playing and at the same time the necessity of using a cumbrous piece of furniture as an adjunct to an ordinary piano for mechanical piano playing purposes is avoided by the use of my readily detachable playing table of small dimensions and weight. This construction of piano player enables those persons having a piano to obtain the advantages of a mechanical piano player of high efliciency at a very moderate cost and in situations where the space available has hitherto precluded the use of a cabinet player.

It will be recognized that it is entirely owing to the use of stamped metal parts and the method of assembling and supporting the various parts of the mechanism that sufficient compactness can be achieved to allow of its being fixed beneath the key bed of the piano without interference with the comfort and knee room of persons playing the piano by hand.

It is pointed out that as'all parts of the apparatus are visible in its completed form,

inspections for repair or adjustment are very readily made and a cheap class of labor can be employed for the initial erection at the factory.

Having now particularly described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letiters Patent is 1. In pneumatic piano playing mechanism, in combination, a piano, pneumatically operated devices situated beneath the key board of the piano, tension devices passing through the key bed adapted to operate the keys, a vacuum chest, trunk pipes connecting therewith, a perforated front plate, comprising apertures communicating with the said pneumatically operated devices and with the trunk pipes to the vacuum chest, said plate being rigidly mounted on the front of the piano key bed, connecting means from the pneumatic mechanism and vacuum chest to said perforated front plate, a detachably attached playing table carrying a tracker, rolling gear, bellows, and reservoir, a perforated plate carried by said table corresponding to said rigidly mounted perforated front plate and provided with connections to the tracker, bellows, the reservoir, and means for forming a temporary joint between the faces of the two perforated plates, substantially as described.

2.1n pneumatic piano playing mechanism, in combination, a piano, pneumatically operated devices situated beneath the key bed of the piano, tension devices passing through the key bed and controlled by the pneumatically operated devices for operating the keys, a vacuum chest provided with upper surfaces in difierent horizontal planes, tubular supports mounted upon said surfaces and communicating with said vacuum chest and supporting the pneumatically operated devices, a perforated front plate rigidly mounted on the front of the piano key bed, connecting means from the pneumatic mechanism to said perforated front plate, a detachably attached playing table carrying a tracker, rolling gear, bellows, and a reservoir, a perforated plate carried by said table corresponding to said rigidly mounted perforated front plate and provided with connections to the tracker, bellows and reservoir, and means for forming a temporary joint between the faces of the two perforated plates, substantially as described.

In pneumatic piano playing mechanism, in combination, a piano, pneumatically operated devices situated beneath the key bed of the piano, tension devices passing through the key bed and controlled by the pneumatically operated devices for operating the keys, a vacuum chest having a series of conical seatings, a series of valve pneumatics, each consisting of two circular elements connected together by a flexible envelop and having one of said elements held within and making a joint with one of the conical seatings, a perforated front plate rigidly mounted on the frontof the piano key bed, connecting means from the pneumatic mechanism to said perforated front plate, a detachably attached playing table carrying a tracker, rolling gear, bellows and a reservoir, a perforated plate carried by said table corresponding to said rigidly mounted perforated front plate and provided with connections to the tracker, bellows and reservoir, and means for forming a temporary joint between the faces of the two perforated plates, substantially as described.

4. In pneumatic piano playing mechanism, in combination, a piano, pneumatically operated devices situated beneath the key bed of the piano, tension devices passing through the key bed and controlled by the pneumatically operated devices for operating the keys, each pneumatically operated device consisting of a pair of dished elements having grooved edges and a flexible envelop entering said grooves, and means for retaining in an air tight manner the envelop in the said grooves, a perforated front plate rigidly mounted on the front of the piano key bed, connecting means from the pneumatic mechanism to said perforated front plate, a detachably attached playing table carrying a tracker, rolling gear, bellows and a reservoir, a perforated plate carried by said table corresponding to said rigidly mounted perforated front plate and arovided with connections to the tracker, bellows and reservoir, and means for forming a temporary joint between the faces of the two perforated plates, substantially as described.

5. In pneumatic piano playing mechanism, in combination, a piano, pneumatically operated devices situated beneath the key bed of the piano, tension devices passing through the key bed and controlled by the pneumatically operated devices for operating the keys, a perforated front plate rigidly mounted on. the front of the piano key bed, connecting means from the pneumatic mechanism to said perforated front plate, air trunks disposed beneath the pneumatically operated devices and connecting the vacuum chest with the said perforated front plate, a detachably attached playing table carrying a tracker, rolling gear, bellows, and a reservoir, a perforated plate carried by said table corresponding to said rigidly mounted perforated front plate and provided with connections to the tracker, bellows, and reservoir, and means for forming a temporary joint between the faces of the two perforated plates, substantially as described.

6. In pneumatic piano playing meehanism, in combination, a piano, pneumatically operated devices situated beneath the key bed of the piano, tension devices passing through the key bed and controlled by the pneumatically operated devices for operating the keys, a perforated front plate rigidly mounted on the front of the piano key bed, connecting means from the pneumatic mechanism to said perforated front plate, a detachably attached playing table carrying a tracker, rolling gears, bellows, and a reservoir, a perforated plate carried by said table corresponding to said rigidly mounted perforated front plate and provided with connections to the tracker, bellows, and reservoir, brackets rigidly attached to the key bed of the piano and supporting the fixed perforated front plate and means for making a temporary joint between the playing table and the perforated front plate carried on the key bed of the piano, substantially as described.

7. In pneumatic piano playing mechanism, in combination, a piano, pneumatically operated devices situated beneath the key bed of the piano, tension devices passing through the key bed and controlled by the pneumatically operated devices for operating the keys, a perforated front plate rigidly mounted on the front of the piano key bed, connecting means from the pneumatic mechanism to said perforated front plate, a detachably attached playing table carrying a tracker, rolling gear, bellows, and a reservoir, a perforated plate carried by said table corresponding to said rigidly mounted perforated front plate and provided with connections to the tracker, bellows, and reservoir, brackets rigidly attached to the key bed of the piano and supporting the fixed perforated front plate and pivoted bridles for holding up the playing table and simultaneously and automatically forming an air tight joint between the playing table and the fixed perforated front plate, the key bed of the piano, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLAUDE l VILLIAM ATKINSON.

Vi itnesses CHAS. R. BULLOUGH, FREDK. L. RAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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